Ghost Towns

Types of Ghost Towns

Some ghost-town communities experienced a gradual decline in population until the last inhabitants either died or moved away. Other such communities suffered some catastrophe—the depletion of a natural resource, a change in the demand for a commodity, or a natural disaster that leads to rapid, large-scale migration. For whatever reason, ghost towns are abandoned, deserted, and isolated from the social and economic activities of their region.

Some ghost towns are rescued by renewed inhabitation and new economic activity. Other communities hang on the brink of abandonment, but the residents find ways to keep the town alive. They may emphasize that the town is a retirement community, a location for second homes, a tourist attraction.

The decline, decay, and abandonment of ghost towns contrast with the common notion of communities, which are typically characterized by building, growth, and organization, with the inhabitants united by common concerns.

Reasons for Community Decline

The reasons that communities lose their energy and organization and decline to the point of becoming ghost towns are numerous. Most communities have some mechanisms that promote their preservation. Communities may decline economically or demographically, but there is ample evidence that people become attached to the locale where they live. It is common for rural places to lose their economic base or to become isolated due to a change in transportation systems, but their residents find ways to stay, often at considerable cost to their economic well-being. They accept poor-paying, unreliable employment, or they commute long distances. Even many of those who have moved away maintain contact and identify with the town.

The primary conditions that contribute to the failure of community maintenance and the decline into ghost-town [Page 552]status include the loss of the economic base, isolation and loss of transportation linkages, the geography and aesthetics of the location, and the lack of local leadership and entrepreneurship. In some cases, despite the earnest attempts of residents, the negative circumstances are so overwhelming that community efforts are fruitless, and the town dies.

The ghost town of Goldfield, Colorado, deserted in the early twentieth century after the gold panned out.

David Samuel Robbins/Corbis; used with permission.

The most important event leading to the decline of a community is the loss of its economic base combined with the lack of alternatives. Most ghost towns were once communities such as company towns, which relied on a single major enterprise for employment and organization. These communities are referred to as addictive communities because of this reliance. The loss of the base may be due to depletion or to changing economic or political conditions.

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